When NCAA Agent, Gambling and Amateurism Director Rachel Newman-Baker talked to the Michigan State men’s basketball team about how much information on individual players odds-makers use to formulate betting lines, even coach Tom Izzo raised his brows.

Last year, more than $228 million was wagered legally in Las Vegas during the Division I men’s and women’s tournaments, according to the American Gaming Organization – not to mention the near $2.5 billion wagered illegally online.

Izzo and his now-Final Four-bound Spartans were among the 32 Division I men’s and women’s regional semifinalists to hear warnings about sports-wagering behavior from the NCAA’s Newman-Baker, who allowed The NCAA News to sit in on presentations to the four teams at the men’s regional in Indianapolis March 26. Besides Michigan State, Newman-Baker also presented to Louisville, Arizona and Kansas.

Newman-Baker told the teams, which included the head and assistant coaches, that members of her staff spend time in Nevada watching how the odds-makers set the line on tournament games – a process that includes sophisticated analysis of individual statistics. Many student-athletes during the presentations were surprised to learn that their games are available for wagering in the Las Vegas sports books.

Newman-Baker’s staff previously waited until the Final Fours to talk about the dangers of gambling, but they moved the message sessions earlier in the tournament beginning in 2006.

“The Final Fours are almost too late for these presentations,” Newman-Baker said, “because if something was going to happen, it probably would’ve happened before that point. The other benefit of moving them to the regionals was to reach more student-athletes.”  

Her presentations typically last 10-15 minutes, and the information she shares captivates the audience each time. For example, she said an interesting development this year came with the news that North Carolina point guard Ty Lawson would not play in the first round, leading to an adjustment in the previous line.

Newman-Baker also informed the teams that if a student-athlete is found to have gambled on teams at his or her own institution, he or she could forfeit all remaining athletics eligibility. She also updated them about the ongoing FBI investigation of a possible point-shaving scandal in men’s basketball and football at Toledo and noted that the Las Vegas sports books closely monitor individual and team performances to see if any red flags should be raised.

Each of the four presentations in Indianapolis also included a question about former NBA referee Tim Donaghy. Newman-Baker asked if anyone knew why Donaghy was sentenced to 15 months in prison. Most of the players assumed it was for making corrupted calls during games, not knowing that Donaghy had actually provided gamblers with inside information about NBA games, such as which officials were assigned to call certain contests.

Each of the four coaches participated in the presentations. Kansas’ Bill Self asked his team how many bookies they thought were on the Jayhawks’ campus. He also warned them about a scenario in which someone may come up to them and offer to buy them lunch, and then in the middle of the conversation start asking questions about one of their teammate’s injuries.

Arizona’s Russ Pennell told his team about Stevin “Hedake” Smith, who was involved in a point-shaving scandal at Arizona State in 1994. Pennell told the Wildcats that Smith ruined a chance at an NBA career by falling into the gambling scene.

Newman-Baker said the presentations almost always hit home with the players and coaches, and she’s pleased that the NCAA has a chance to go one-on-one with the teams with this important  message.

“This is a chance for us to be active on the front end as opposed to sitting across a table and interviewing a kid about something he or she may have already done,” Newman-Baker said.

“In the middle of one of these presentations a couple of years ago, an athletic trainer showed us a text message he received from guys who were going to place a bet on this team. They wanted to know how the team was feeling, had they been delayed in their travel or had anybody gotten sick. It was a great example of how people try to get inside information.”

For more information, see Newman-Baker on “Mondays with Myles and Friends.” Also, a multimedia presentation on NCAA anti-gambling efforts is available by clicking here.